Simple Peruvian Ceviche

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“The best and easiest Ceviche recipe I've ever tasted (and I've tried them all over South America). It's quick, easy and disappears quickly. The habanero peppers make it spicy without giving it the distinctive flavor of jalapenos and it's great without hot peppers too. You can adjust any of the seasonings to suit your taste. I am not a cilantro fan, but this is the only recipe in which I will tolerate cilantro.”

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Ceviche is one of my favorite dishes, and this is a great recipe. A couple of notes: Peruvian cuisine uses many different peppers. Aji amarillo (literally yellow pepper) is Peruvian and quite flavorful but does not provide a lot of heat. I don't think aji amarillo will spice up this dish, though. The acid in the lime will overpower it. Traditionally, Peruvian ceviche uses aji rocoto which is a very hot red pepper, also indigenous to Peru. It is closer in heat to the habanero pepper the recipe calls for, but I think it has more flavor as oppossed to pure heat. It is available as a paste in small jars. You should be able to find it online if you don't have a market near you carrying this. Be forewarned, I am a big fan of hot food, this is very potent stuff. Also, if you are going to order your aji rocoto, go ahead and order some cancha as well. It is a corn cornel that is lightly toasted (so as not to actually pop it) and salted, then served as an accompaniment to ceviche. Peru has many variety of corn that we do not have in The States, this is one. Boil a sweet potato (camote in Spanish) and serve your ceviche (prepared with aji rocoto) on a large lettuce leaf, with a couple slices of boiled sweet potato and some cancha on the side, and you will have a delicious quite healthy, traditional Peruvian meal. Enjoy!

Top Review by

35

people discussing

Ceviche is one of my favorite dishes, and this is a great recipe. A couple of notes: Peruvian cuisine uses many different peppers. Aji amarillo (literally yellow pepper) is Peruvian and quite flavorful but does not provide a lot of heat. I don't think aji amarillo will spice up this dish, though. The acid in the lime will overpower it. Traditionally, Peruvian ceviche uses aji rocoto which is a very hot red pepper, also indigenous to Peru. It is closer in heat to the habanero pepper the recipe calls for, but I think it has more flavor as oppossed to pure heat. It is available as a paste in small jars. You should be able to find it online if you don't have a market near you carrying this. Be forewarned, I am a big fan of hot food, this is very potent stuff. Also, if you are going to order your aji rocoto, go ahead and order some cancha as well. It is a corn cornel that is lightly toasted (so as not to actually pop it) and salted, then served as an accompaniment to ceviche. Peru has many variety of corn that we do not have in The States, this is one. Boil a sweet potato (camote in Spanish) and serve your ceviche (prepared with aji rocoto) on a large lettuce leaf, with a couple slices of boiled sweet potato and some cancha on the side, and you will have a delicious quite healthy, traditional Peruvian meal. Enjoy!